Harpa, the Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Center, is Iceland’s latest attraction. The grand opening won’t occur until Aug. 20, when acrobats and a wide selection of pop, jazz, and classical artists will perform alongside the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. But when Harpa held an open house with classical concerts over three days in mid-May, 100,000 people showed up, an astonishing number for a country whose entire population is less than 320,000. Visitors are coming not only to see performances, but also to shop and to eat. Reservations at Kolabrautin (“Coal Train,” a flashback to Reykjavik’s past), an upscale eatery that touts its use of fresh Icelandic ingredients, are already a tough ticket. Many are coming simply to ogle the building. Designed by Henning Larsen Architects of Copenhagen and artist Olafur Eliasson, it’s made of more than 10,000 glass windows that reference the columnar basalt common in Iceland’s terrain. The south façade is a double wall of glass pieces that catches the sunlight and acts like a prism, creating colorful blocks of light on Harpa’s floor and walls. On a Saturday in July, tourists were exploring the building by 9 a.m., an hour before the ground floor’s casual restaurant, Munnharpan (“Mouth Harp”) opens and two hours before guided tours of the 28,000-square-meter building start. he 45-minute circuit, which costs $15, takes visitors through Harpa’s four concert halls, as well as event spaces and galleries. If the weather is nice, tourists may also want to linger in the vast outdoor plaza. Aside from presenting a broad mix of programming—Broadway shows, Björk, classical concerts conducted by Gustavo Dudamel—Harpa has a bigger role to play in Iceland’s economy. The building was originally slated as a multiuse complex to house the new headquarters of Landsbankinn, a commercial bank taken over by the government during the crisis. That dream died with the financial collapse, but the government agreed in 2009 to provide funds for Harpa. With its meeting rooms halfway between continental Europe and North America, Harpa hopes to attract business conferences and conventions to Iceland. http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/08/14/the-stunning-architecture-of-iceland-s-harpa.html

IUB's Main Library is not sinking According to legend, the Indiana University at Bloomington Main Library is sinking by an inch a year because the architect failed to take into account the weight of the books. Which is, of course, not true. The legend has circulated swiftly, on campus and beyond, and that makes it particularly tough to debunk. Lou Malcomb, head of the Government Publications Department, believes the rumor may be spreading more rapidly because of the increasing popularity of E-mail lists and Web sites. Wherever the legend surfaces, the original source of the information is unlisted and unverifiable. Urban legends are always told second hand. That's what makes them urban legends. http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/HomePages/100199/text/library.htm

In a check of the 100 top-selling men’s dress watches on Amazon.com in 2008, which included models from 20 brands, all but three watches were set to 10:10. Because brand names generally are centered on the upper half of a watch, hands positioned at 10 and 2 “frame the brand and logo,” said Andrew Block, executive vice president at Tourneau, the watch retailer, which has 51 stores worldwide. “It’s almost like an unwritten rule that everyone understands to photograph a watch a 10:10.” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/28/business/media/28adco.html

When Harriet Monroe founded Poetry magazine in 1912, she wrote that her publication was "a modest effort to give to poetry her own place." Now, nearly one hundred years later, poetry quite literally has that place. Opened to the public in June 2011, the Poetry Foundation new building houses a public garden, a 30,000-volume library, an exhibition gallery, the Foundation's programming offices—including the offices of Poetry magazine—and space for the Foundation’s extensive roster of public programs and events.
Address: 61 West Superior Street Chicago, IL 60654 Building Hours: 11AM - 4PM Garden Hours: 9AM - 5PM
See library information and view photographs and architectural renderings at: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/foundation/a-home-for-poetry

Poetry's New Palace by Joel Henning
In 2002, big money found its way to poetry through Ruth Lilly's bequest, currently valued at some $200 million, to Poetry magazine. And now about $21 million of that money has been transformed into a small, elegant new building in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood that houses the magazine, the Poetry Foundation that publishes it, and its additional post-Lilly bequest programs. One enters through a garden that seems almost like a carved space in the property. Mr. Ronan installed heat tubing under the garden to melt winter snows, so all year long this space, open to the sky and to the building's interiors through glass expanses, will welcome visitors. Zinc walls add to the unusual quality of the building. And those surrounding the garden are perforated, offering a look inside after sunset. Once inside, visitors can turn right into a two-story library housing 30,000 volumes. Besides shelves, this inviting and light-filled open space contains a spare but impressive 44-foot wood table, offering the public places to read or search the web on several computers. The children's poetry area contains little cork stools complementing the trees visible in the garden, one of Mr. Ronan's several touches to make his design cohere, inside and out. To the left is a 125-seat performance space designed to permit the reciting of poetry without amplification. It's a pleasure to hear poems read aloud in a lovely room unspoiled by speakers, cables and microphones. What's more, the fabric ceiling and patterned concrete wall, designed to enhance the acoustics, add to the room's aesthetics. A gallery lit by soft northern sunlight between the library and performance space displays poetry-related exhibits. Upstairs are the offices of the magazine, the foundation and its programs. While the offices and conference rooms are spare, workers remain in sight of the garden, the library and the city through ample windows and a skylight. The foundation, whose audience was once limited to 10,000 Poetry subscribers, now reaches 19 million Americans who would not otherwise have seen or heard poem Among its media partnerships are the "Writer's Almanac," a daily poetic offering chosen by Garrison Keillor, and features on the "PBS NewsHour." The poetryfoundation.org website contains 10,000 poems, poetry news, a blog and podcasts. And an iPad app even allows curious users to "spin" it to find new poems. Search "architecture and design" on the site and you'll find, among other poems, "In this Simple Shelter" by Cat Ruiz:
A fine construction of elegant contours
in soft green and new wood.
But what else does it say, yet?
Consistent with its fine acoustics, the little gem of a building housing the Poetry Foundation will quietly, over the course of time, say good and useful things. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904006104576500563264598614.html?mod=googlenews_wsj